[xwdv]

With that logic, a child can be super cheap if you just pay the bare minimum to live. No cars, no phones, no college.

[Handytinge]

What a weird list of bare minimums. What child requires a car or phone?

If they want one, surely they can get a job and pay for one?

[xwdv]

If those don’t qualify for bare minimums to you, I shudder to think about what you think are actual bare minimums.

[Handytinge]

I live in an area with sane public transport, and if my kids need to get somewhere I can also drive them.

The amount of children with cars in my area would be a singular percentage.

As to phones, why would your child require a phone? I'm sure there are some useful scenarios - obsessive tracking, easy contact, etc - but these aren't necessary. For hundreds of generations kids didn't have phones (and billions around the world still don't), and it's rarely an issue.